CLEVELAND — Euclid Police Cpt. Jeff Cutwright showed Spectrum News a handful of the illegal guns the department has taken off streets.
“This is just the last week or two,” Cutwright said, while showing the guns. “The new is in Ohio is if you haven’t committed a crime, then the state has no interest whether you carry a firearm.”
In June of last year, lawmakers eliminated requirements to have a license to carry a concealed handgun. Now police can’t take a gun off someone just for carrying without a license.
“If you’re smoking marijuana, there’s a disqualifier under Ohio law,” Cutwright said. “You can’t possess a firearm. If you have felony convictions, domestic violence convictions, if you’re under the age of 18, you can’t even touch a firearm.”
Euclid police seized 245 illegal guns from January to August of 2022. In that same time period in 2023, they’ve seized 161 as of Aug. 24.
Cutwright said the law change plays a factor since an illegal gun has a new definition, but he said the department’s more seasoned officers are tied up training new recruits, as a way to help increase their efforts.
“We expect the early months of 2024 that the firearm seizures will once again spike,” Cutwright said.
They have a unit aimed at seizing illegal guns called the Community Response Unit. Officer Matthew Gilmer is a member of that unit, which is only a few officers at this point. They have a cheat sheet from the prosecutor’s office that tells them what disqualifies someone from carrying concealed.
Some violations may prompt police to educate someone on the new laws instead of enforcing them, since their focus is on getting guns away from violent criminals.
“Instead of issuing a criminal citation or seizing their firearm, we might explain to them why they are not in compliance,” Gilmer said. “And then we show them how to transport their weapon safely back to their home while doing so legally. Then I might educate them to go get their concealed handgun license, until their prohibition period is up.”
Even though a license is no longer required, Gilmer said it still might work in your favor to get one. Without a license, police may have to run a background check during a stop, to ensure you’re allowed to have the gun on you.
“We’ll conduct a background check here in the police car, by advising our dispatch that we need a copy of their computerized criminal history,” Gilmer said. “For people who don’t have one, none will return on file.”
Gilmer said having a concealed carry license could shorten the time of a stop, since the license shows that you qualify for carrying a gun. And if you’re asked if you’re armed, lying about it to the officer is a misdemeanor. As for the seized guns at EPD headquarters, Cutwright said they’ll likely be destroyed.
“A lot of times, it’s up to the judge,” Cutwright said. “And they most commonly order the firearm destroyed.”
